Questions and Memories

Hi Folks,

I guess it would be questions and answers, however, sometimes in finding our answers to a question, we evoke memories:

So please take a trip with me down memory lane as I share with you my off the cuff answers to a random question on Gather.com this morning:

Q: Who are some of your favorite authors, and why?

A: Off the top of my head and in no particular order:

Judy Blume, Enid Blyton, Lori Foster, Terry McMillan, Diana Palmer (in all her reincarnations), Sandra Brown (and all of her reincarnations), Eric Jerome Dickey, Michael Baisden, E. Lynn Harris, J.R. Ward, Marilyn Lee, Monica Jackson, Brenda Jackson (not related… LOL), Margaret Johnson-Hodge, Sandra Kitt.

Okay, I’ll stop there because my fingers are getting tired… LOL.

Q: You forgot the why.

A: Oops… didn’t see the why part of the question:

Judy Blume – If only for “Are You There, God? It’s me, Margaret.” She approached touchy subjects with sensitivity and the KIR factor even back then. (KIR = Keeping-It-Real)

Enid Blyton – Goblins, twins, mystery and adventure. She enhances a child’s ability to imagine and see great things in everyday life

Lori Foster – Another favorite on my KIR Richter Scale. She represents the vagaries of human life with depth, sensitivity, honesty and humor. Oh and the love scenes are not too shabby either.

Terry McMillan – The lady of so many firsts. A trailblazer for AA fiction and chicklit. She made it okay for women to exhale and date younger men.

Diana Palmer – Most appreciated by me for elevating the plain of form or features to the status of the dearly beloved and of course beating out the prom queens, beauty queens, barbie like women etc. Gooooo Diana!

Sandra Brown – My first appreciation the flow within a writers work began with Sandra. No not Shakespeare… LOL. Sandra.

Eric Jerome Dickey – Whew! His first three books have a permanent place on my bookshelf. Chick lit from a man’s point of view. Enlightening and enjoyable.

Michael Baisden – Affirmed the fact that Men reall do cry in the dark. His books deal with issues that are particularly male oriented without making excuses for the males.

E. Lynn Harris – I have E. Lynn to thank for clueing me into the Down Low trend at 17 before it became widely known. I was fresh to New York after High School and dating a guy who was gorgeous, witty and Hispanic. (All top three requirements at that point in time). However, there was just something that didn’t click for me. Until I read one of E. Lynn’s books. Via the clues listed in E. Lynn’s book, I realized that the brother was ambivalent… to put it politely.

J.R. Ward – If you enjoy a great vampire book… J.R. is the new Queen of the road. Her vampires are not like any other.

Marilyn Lee – A gifted story teller, my only complaint, She writes mainly erotica which kinda curtails my enjoyment of her skills.

Monica Jackson – Another KIR sister who has written chicklit before it became popular. She’s also a pretty nifty marketing diva who doesn’t sleep on the job.

Brenda Jackson – One of the few African American authors who is published by Silhouette Desire.

Margaret Johnson-Hodge – Holds a great place on my bookshelf as well, because she was one of the few authors who represented locs in a positive light in one of her earlier books. She also did a great job on interracial relationships as well as the ghetto fab sister with the executive brother in a believable manner. Kudos Margaret!

Sandra Kitt – Sandra, Sandra, Sandra. Girl, you had me hooked from the first book. You were writing about one of my favorite topics: interracial relationships. Not only did you portray them realistically, you didn’t go in for the quick fixes and the soppy happy endings. He/she wasn’t perfect just because he/she was white; and he/she wasn’t a disaster that needed a savior just because he/she was white. It was real people dealing with real issues and relationships who just happened to have differences in their pigmentation. You’re still the undisputed queen in my book.

So there you have it folks. My long-winded but lovingly nostalgic, off-the-cuff response. Now the ball is thrown firmly back into your court: who are some of your favorite authors and why?